87 migrants rescued from the Mediterranean to be taken to Algeciras “refugee camp”

The migrants will have been aboard the Open Arms vessel for a week before reaching Spain

Another illustration of the new Spanish government’s attitude towards the complex issue of migrants attempting to make their way into the EU via the Mediterranean was provided on Monday by the decision to allow the NGO rescue vessel “Open Arms” to head for the port of Algeciras, in the province of Cádiz, with 87 migrants rescued from the sea on board.

The migrants are reported to have been hauled to safety from the central part of the Mediterranean on Thursday of last week, and by the time they reach port in Spain will have been on board the Open Arms for a week. On arrival they will be met by medical staff, having been escorted on their 590-mile voyage to Algeciras first by the Spanish navy and then by the Guardia Civil, both of whom will be providing emergency food and medical supplies as well as fuel.

They will then be taken to what some elements of the Spanish media are describing as a “refugee camp” in the bay of Algeciras, a reference to the centre which has been set up in Crinavis, near San Roque, as one of the “closed welcoming centres” agreed upon in Paris by Spanish and French Prime Ministers Pedro Sánchez and Emmanuel Macron on 23rd June.